This blog is ‘Aki’s blog: Café Green Tea’ but she’s been taking a rest because of poor physical condition.
So I’ll write the blog instead of her a few times.My name is Yasuo Amano. I’m a staff member of Shizuoka Prefectural Tourism Association.
I also write the Japanese blog on the “Japanese Shizuoka Prefectural Tourism Association homepage”.
If you and your computer can read Japanese, please visit my blog.
Hello Navi blog: http://hellonavi.jp/blog/

This pamphlet is convenient

"Oden" and other local dishes are expected to become a kind of Shizuoka's tourism features now.

In Shizuoka station, I found out this pamphlet outside the front of an Izakaya on the street of restaurant and pub.
This pamphlet is written by 4 languages . ( in English , Korea , Simplified Chinese , Japanese )
This pamphlet is available at each Izakaya , and you can also get it at the information center of north gate of Shizuoka station.

Click above picture

I opened it, the page is a list of Shizuoka's local dishes and some beverages with pictures and comments .

You can easily order them just with pointing out dishes you want.
Besides I opened it more , that page is a map of Izakaya of Shizuoka City.

Fried Kuro-Hanpen

Shizuoka City especially recommend a dish and a bevarage with "Shizuoka Oden" as one of Shizuoka's tourism features . The above picture is "Fried Kuro-Hanpen ." Kikyo's " Fried Kuro-Hanpen " is nice ! I had eaten it before , but it was best for me. It was crispy and juicy . People often eat it with Japanese Worcester sauce or Soy sauce , but it is good without any sauce . The owner separates "Kuro-Hanpen" for Fried one and for "Oden."
This "Fried Kuro-Hanpen" has a wide varietion each pubs and restaurants and homes in Shizuoka City.

Shizuoka-wari

I had never drunk "Shizuoka-Wari" before I came to Shizuoka.
"Shizuoka-wari" is shochu(Japanese distilled beverage) mixed with cold or hot green tea.

Yes ! It's very tasty !

Some years ago, a famous bevarage company advertised the commercial , that introduced "Shizuoka Oden" as one of matching foods for a beer on national TV. The commercial made "Oden" even more famous.

A street of "Oden" Izakaya

"Oden" is one of Japanese popular dishes .

Especially, Shizuoka City is famous for "Oden" as a local dish in Japan .

"Oden" are on the menu of about 600 restaurants or "Izakaya"(Japanese style pubs) in Shizuoka City .

Aoba "Oden" Yokocyo

This corner is located in center of Shizuoka City, it is near Aoba Park.
This is called Aoba "Oden" Gai. These are all pubs , which have "Oden" as main dishes.
Some corners like this are close to Aoba Park .

Now "Oden" is expected to become one of Shizuoka's tourism features.
So, Japanese tourists come to eat "Shizuoka Oden" around Aoba Park , and they enjoy their distinctive atmospheres.

In early February, I went to Aoba "Oden" Yokocyo.
I enjoyed eating "Oden" at Kikyo .

A wide varieties of ingredients

"Oden" is a kind of "Nimono,"(stewed dishes) or "Nabe "(hot pot dishes).

"Oden" mainly prepared with Daikon (Japanese radish), boiled eggs, Konbu seaweed and various "Surimi"(fish ground meat cakes) stewed in a light, soy-flavoured dashi broth.
And there are many regional and personal varieties of ingredients .

"Oden" is common wintertime food and often available in convenience stores in Japan.

But people in Shizuoka eat "Oden" as a main dish, they also eat it as a snack through the year. At first I was surprised at this custom .

All stars of "Oden"

"Shizuoka Oden" has some characteristics.

First, all ingredients of "Oden" are skewered.
So "Oden" is handy, and it is easy to eat. This style is rare. In other area, "Oden" is eaten with chopsticks.
In Shizuoka, "Oden" is familiar as a kind of fast foods.
Second is the topping. Japanese often eat "Oden" with Karashi(hot mustard). Furthermore, people in Shizuoka City add "Kezuri-ko"(powder of dried sardine) and dried"Ao-nori" powder. "Ao-nori" is a kind of seaweed.

She prepares them with great care

The above picture is the major ingredients . Starting from the left , beef tendons , "Kuro-hanpen" and Daikon (Japanese radish).

"Kuro-hanpen" is item available only in center area of Shizuoka.
Hanpen ordinary is a white, square shaped "Surimi" product with a soft, mild taste. In Shizuoka Prefecture, whole sardines are used and the resulting product has a bluish-gray color. This is called "Kuro-hanpen," literally " black-hanpen . "
The texture is rough and unique.
I think, it tastes like one of precooked chopped pork meats a little .

Finally, this soy-flavoured dashi broth is usually a dark coloured with beef offal and tendon and dark soy sauce .
Kikyou's "Oden" soup was mild and tasty. I drank it up .
The owner boasted of this soup.



In Shizuoka City restaurants or "Izakaya"(Japanese style pubs) compete tastes of "Oden" with one another,
there are numerous variations of "Oden."

Local people love "Oden" as one of dishes of hometown.

That day we went was windy and it was real cold, "Oden" warmed my body and heart .
I think "Oden" especially is a nice dish for this season .

I will report about the pamphlet of Shizuoka local dishes including "Oden" in Engish , other Shizuoka's local dishes and "Shizuoka-wari", which is the local mixed drink with "Shocyu ." (Japanese distilled beverage)

A wide variety of　”Ukiyo-e”

There were more varieties of “Ukiyo-e,” woodblock prints, than I had expected.
They are of landscapes, beautiful women, portraits of the then popular actors, sumo wrestlers and more.
There was also a genre of caricatures and a trick art.
I saw one portrait “Ukiyo-e,” which turned into a totally different person when looked upside down. “Ukiyo-e” means “genre picture." “Ukiyo-e” reflects the Japanese folkways in those days.
“Ukiyo-e,” which has become popular overseas as well, was very impressive.

The delicate process of making "Ukiyo-e"

There are many steps to producing “Ukiyo-e.” First, the image is drawn on “Washi.” (“Washi” means “Japanese paper.”) Then, it is glued to a block of wood. The wood is cut apart into multiple parts, based on the outlines given by the drawing. Every separate part is colored with different by professional artisans.

Trying my hand at printing "Yui,Satta mine"

At this art museum, you can have a hands-on activity of making “Ukiyo-e,” using a rubber plate, not a wood plate. The procedure is simplified and you use a roller for coloring. I tried it myself and found it quite exciting. It required a lot of concentration, though. For instance, I should not use excessive amount of ink. I also had to be careful to place the paper properly on to the plate.

Finish up!

When I pressed the paper onto the first plate, I had no idea what kind of design it would turn out to be. As I pressed the paper over and over (total 5 times), a familiar design started to appear. It was the design by Hiroshige titled "Yui, Satta-mine" For just 300 yen, you can make three works of “Ukiyo-e.”

My selection of postcards

In this museum, many “Ukiyo-e” postcards are available for sale, each for 70 yen. Each of them is high quality. The picture of "Yui, Satta-mine", which I showed in the previous blog, was actually the postcard I bought there. You may also be interested in obtaining postcard books (each for 1200 yen) and replications of woodblock prints (each for 1000 yen) for reasonable prices.
Would you like to have your own collection of Japanese woodblock prints?

Access: 25 minute walk from JR Yui Station
Tel: 054-375-4454
Admission: ￥500 for adults, ￥300 for high school and university students, free of charge for junior high school students and younger
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (admission until 16:30 p.m.)
Close: Mondays (the following day if Monday is a national holiday) and during the year-end/New Year holidays

Tokaido Hiroshige Museum

In Yui Honjin Park,Tokaido Hiroshige museum holds Japan’s first collection of the art works of “Ukiyo-e” master Utagawa Hiroshige. About 1,400 "Ukiyo-e" works are stored here, including "Nakatugawa of the 69 Stations of the Kiso Kaido Series,"which is very few still exist today.
"Ukiyo-e" is woodblock print and it is one of the most famous Japanese traditional arts. In the Edo period, two of the most renowned "Ukiyo-e" artists are Hokusai Katsushika and Hiroshige Utagawa.
They are famous scenic artists of "Ukiyo-e."

"Yui, Satta-mine"

Hiroshige's artworks are poetic and lyrical.
The right-hand picture is one of "53 Stations of the Tokaido Series." This is "Yui, Satta-mine",the view of Mt.Fuji from Satta Pass near Yui inn.
"53 Stations of the Tokaido Series" made Hiroshige and his works popular among ordinary people.
Hiroshige made sketches of each station and of spectacular or trivial views along the road, and he also got inspiration for createing his landscapes from the tales of others' trips. During the Edo period, tourism was also booming, so "53 Stations of the Tokaido Series" was both art and travel guide along the Tokaido.

An exhibit room

Each exhibition of "Ukiyo-e" changes once every month.
When I came to the museum,　"Meisyo Edo Hyakkei" was displayed.
"Meisyo Edo Hyakkei"　means " One Hundred Famous Views of Edo." This series is one of the best known work of Hiroshige. Hiroshige's "Ukiyo-e" were so sensitive and delicate works. When I was junior high school student, I learned about Hiroshige Utagawa on school teaching. But I saw the real works for the first time.

Hiroshige's real works and Gogh's reproductions

The description of the museum says Hiroshige's works greatly influenced French Impressionists such as Monet.
And Vincent Van Gogh copied two of "Meisyo Edo Hyakkei."
One is "Great Bridge, Sudden Shower at Atake," another is "The Plum Garden in Kameido."

By Gogh these works were reproduced as "The Bridge in the Rain" and "Flowering Plum Tree."

The right-hand picture is "Hiroshige's real works and Gogh's reproductions." The works of the left-sided works are Hiroshige's works and the right-sided works are Gogh's reproductions.
I compared their works side-by-side, it was amusing approach. Hiroshige's thin and graceful line was beautiful and Gogh's distinctive brushwork was dynamic. And I imagined something what Gogh asked for Hiroshige's works with longing eyes.

And this museum has some attractive exhibitions. And you can enjoy a simple process of printing like "Ukiyo-e."
I will introduce some nice souvenirs.
to be continued...

Access: 25 minute walk from JR Yui Station
Tel: 054-375-4454
Admission: ￥500 for adults, ￥300 for high school and university students, free of charge for junior high school students and younger
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (admission until 16:30 p.m.)
Close: Mondays (the following day if Monday is a national holiday) and during the year-end/New Year holidays